UK, US clamp down on money laundering rings allegedly favored by Russian oligarchs and Western drug gangs

UK and US authorities on Wednesday announced a major crackdown on a pair of billion-dollar money laundering rings that officials say has cleaned money for Russia’s elite, cybercriminals and drug-runners around the world.

UK and US authorities on Wednesday announced a major crackdown on a pair of billion-dollar money laundering rings that officials say has cleaned money for Russia’s elite, cybercriminals and drug-runners around the world. The US Treasury Department sanctioned alleged senior members of one of the money-laundering rings, while the alleged leader of the other money-laundering ring is in custody in France, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The three-year investigation from the UK’s National Crime Agency has revealed some of the clearest public evidence yet of how Russian-speaking groups allegedly act as a financial clearinghouse for ransomware criminals who extort victims for millions, Russian oligarchs looking to protect their money abroad and drug cartels who are pumping cocaine into Europe. After Western governments pelted Russia with sanctions for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian elites needed a new place to stash their money. The two alleged money-laundering networks offered Russian elites a financial lifeline, UK investigators allege. “As things became more difficult, and these elites wanted to continue to enjoy their lifestyles across the West, they turned very much (to these laundering networks),” Will Lyne, NCA’s head of cyber intelligence, told CNN. Western law enforcement officials have now made 84 arrests in connection with the activity, according to the NCA, Britain’s main agency for fighting organized crime. And they’re hoping that recent arrests will yield new intelligence for the next law enforcement offensive against the powerful networks.